Mowing-machine



(No Model.) I

J. P. MANNY.

MOWING MACHINE.

No. 317,816. Patented May 12, 1885.

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JOHh P. MANNY, OF ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS.

MOWING-MACHINE.

ESPEQIPICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.317,816, dated May 12,1885.

Application filed October 22, 1884. (No model.) Patented in Canada. July 2,1883,l\0.17,144.

To dZZ whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN P.-MANNY, of Rockford, in the county of \Vinnebago and State of Illinois,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mowing-Machines, of one division of which-the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

That division of the invention to which the present application relates consists of an improved combination of devices for transmitting power from the driving wheel or wheels to the cutters of a hinged bar side-cut mower.

The invention also relates to the arrangement of the crankshaft and the parts rigidly connected with the finger beam, and to the employment in connection therewith of a short throw of the scalloped cutters.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a mower embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a detail view of the counter-shaft or secondary axle, and Fig. 3 is a detail view of the drag-bar and shoe.

Referring to the drawings more in detail, A is the main frame, 13 the main driving-wheel, and C a rag, chain, or sprocket wheel turn ing on the main axle, and coupled with the main driving wheel B by means of an ordinary backing ratchet. If preferred, this sprocket-wheel may bekeyed fast on the axle and backing ratchets used with both of v the main wheels, the axle turninginboxes on the main frame.

D is a counter-shaft or secondary axle, secured in boxes on the front of the main frame and in advance of the main wheels. Mounted on this secondary axle and turning freely thereon is a sleeve, E, which carries a small chain-wheel, F, at one end and a bevel-gear, G, at its other end. The arrangement of the wheel F and the gear G relatively to the driving-wheel on the side of the cutting apparatus is such that they lie upon opposite sides of the plane of that wheel, the bevel-gear G projecting beyond the driving-wheel toward the grass. A chain, H, passing over the wheels 0 and F, conveys motion to the sleeve E and gear G. If found necessary, a chain-tightener may be used. For this purpose an ordinary floating roller may be employed, or, if preferred, a device like that shown at I, which consists of a shoe held at any desired vertical adjustment by means of aset-screw which enters a fixed post or standard on the main frame.

The cutting apparatus is connected with the main frame in the following manner: The dragbar J and the shoe K being rigidly connected together, the forward end of the drag-bar is pivoted to the projecting end of the secondary axle D, while the shoe, which is firmly bolted to the heel of the finger-bar, is connected with the main axle by means of an oscillating sleeve, L, provided with a pendent tubular arm, and a rod, M, arranged to play in such arm. In order to furnish a bearing for this sleeve, the main axle is prolonged beyond the driving wheel on the side toward the cutters, and in order to secure free play of the rod M in the pendent arm this rod must be attached to the shoe by some form of flexiblejoint, that shown in the drawings being astaple passing through an eye in the lower end of the rod. By giving the arm of sleeve L a sufficient length, and giving the sleeve itself a sufiiciently-extended bearing on the projecting axle, it will resist the tendency of the heel of the cutting apparatus to crowd in toward the driving-wheel. As the secondary axle D, to which the forward end'of the drag-bar is pivoted, is free to rock in its bearings, it is plain that the heel of the cutting apparatus will be free to rise and fall, for the purpose of passing obstructions, to the full extent of the play of the rod M in the arm of the oscillating sleeve L. So, also, if the secondary axle were fixed in its bearings, the drag-bar might be so pivoted to its outer end that the heel of the cutting apparatus would still be'capable of rising and falling freely.

It is manifest that instead of making the shoe and drag-bar of separate pieces and then bolting them together, as shown in the drawings, a single piece may be used; or, in other words, the shoe itself may be extended from the finger-beam up to the hinge at the end of the secondary shaft or axle D.

It will be seen that the pendent sleeve L, together with the rod M, that plays therein, and the drag-bar J constitute the couplingframe by means of which the finger-bar and cutters are connected with the main frame, and that the flexibility of the connections is such IOO that the finger-bar is what is known in the art as a fioating finger-bar, being capable of rising and falling automatically in accordance with the varying undulations of the ground.

The cutting apparatus is lifted, for the purpose of passing obstructions or backing, by means of an ordinary spring-and-pawl liftinglever, N, pivoted on the main axle just outside the driving-wheel, and a cord or chain, 0, which extends down, and is secured to the finger-bar P,-a rigid link, Q, also being used, one end of which is pivoted to the heel of the cutting apparatus and the other to the said cord or chain. As the details of this lifting mechanism constitute no part of the present division of my original application as filed April 28, 1882, (but are made the subject of Division A of said application, the amended specification of which is filed contemporaneously herewith on this 22d day of October, 1884,) it is deemed unnecessary to givefurther description thereof.

The crank-shaft R is arranged in abox or suitable bearings on the drag-bar and shoe, and substantially in the line of the doublehinge connection between the cutting apparatus and the main frame. One end of the crankshaft carries a small bevel-pinion, S, which meshes with the bevel-gear G on the second ary axle D, while the other end is provided with a disk carrying the ordinary crank-pin, which is connected with the heel of the cutterbar by a pitman in the usual way. By thus arranging the crank-shaft on the drag-bar and shoe, and in the line of the two hinges between the cutting apparatus and the main frame, it follows that the fin ger-bar can be raised,either partially or to the full extent ,without throwing the gear G and the pinion S out of mesh or causing them to bind, and the cutters will operate equally well on rough ground and on smooth.

Other advantages arising from locating the crankshaft on the parts rigidly connected with the finger-bar are greater economy of construction and greater strength and durability.

When the crank-shaft is on the main frame, the push and pull of the crank in the cutters communicates a constant jar to the frame, which not only wears on the nerves of the operator, but necessarily deteriorates the machine; but with the present construction, with the crank and knife on the same rigid bed, the main frame is wholly free from vibration from such source. WVhen, again, the crank-shaft is on the main frame, the push and pull of the crank serves to increase and contract alternately with each revolution the distance between the crank-shaft and the hinged finger-bar, so that no inconsiderable part of the motion or throw of the crank is lost, especially when the parts become worn and the joints loose; but when, as now proposed, the crank-shaft is put on the same rigid bed with the knife they maintain constantly their proper Vibrating relation to each other, and no such lost motion'can occur. \Vhen the crank-shaft is thus mounted on the shoe and dragbar, the dragbar being arranged outside the driving-wheel, on the side next the grass, it becomes necessary, in order to keep the shoe sufficiently narrow, to use a Very short pitman and when a short pitman is used it becomes desirable to reduce correspondingly, so far as practicable, the len'gth of the crank, in order to pre vent the loss of power arising from the thrust of the pitman at too great an angle with the finger-bar. To this end it will be especially desirable, with the present construction of machine, to make use of what I have heretofore denominated the short stroke, which is fully described by mein Letters Patent No. 158,177, granted me December 29, 1874. This short strokerequires the use, in connection with the scalloped cutters and slotted guard-fingers, of open-forked guard-caps, and, as fully explained in the patent referred to, this construction of these parts permits the throw of the crank to be reduced to a minimum, since it thus becomes necessary to move the blades only a distance equal to that between the inner edges of two adjacent guards. Such openforked guards are shown at T T, and in Fig. 3 there are shown in full and in dotted lines, respectively, the positions of the cutter-blades at the two extremes oftheir vibration, as more fully set forth in the patent referred to.

The machine is also to be provided with a tilting lever for changing the angle of the cutters. Such lever is shown at U. By means of a pawl which engages with a ratchet on the main frame, and of a rod which connects with a standard on the hinged pole or draft-frame V, the angle of the cutters can be changed at pleasure. By thus placing the tilting mechanism and'hinge forward or in advance of the finger-bar it becomes possible to bolt the finger-bar, the shoe, and the drag-bar together into one rigid system, and still retain the requisite flexibility whereby to present the cutters to their work at different angles, as may from time to time be required.

W is a brace extending from the pole to the end of the secondary shaft or axle. This brace furnishes a muchneeded support for such shaft against the strain that otherwise would be communicated to it from the'cutting apparatus.

As above described, the secondary axle D is arranged to rock in its bearings, while the sleeve which carries the chain-wheel F and the bevel-gear G revolves on this axle. plain, however, that the axle might be made to revolve, the chain-wheel and bevel gearwheel being keyed upon it,- or, the chain-wheel and bevel-gear being mounted on a sleeve, as shown, this axle instead of rocking in its bearings might be fixed; but in case of either of these changes in construction it would be necessary to make such modification in the form of the hinge between the drag-bar and the secondary axle as to permit the heel of the finger- It is bar to rise and fall with freedom. The devices for this purpose are too obvious to a person skilled in the art to need special description.

There are believed to be many advantages connected with the use of a chain for communicating power from the main axle to the sec ondary gear for driving the cutters. Not only is the construction lighter and cheaper than gears would be, but the machine, to a large extent, is free from the binding and friction of the parts, which inevitably attend the use of close-fitting boxes and journals when the machine is operating on rough ground. The chain also works always Ion the periphery of the wheel, and consequently with a maximum leverage, whereas cogs run toward the shaft of the wheel, and expend a large part of their power nearer the center of motion, where it has less effect on the driven gear, and where the chain is used there is a less number of parts-such as boxes, journals, &c.to keep properly adjusted and oiled and free from grit.

'It is not intended to claim, broadly, herein the use of sprocket-wheels and a chain for con veying power from the main axle of a mower to the secondary axle thereof, as this, considered by itself, is not new; nor is it intended to claim, broadly, the mounting of the crankshaft on the drag-bar or on a secondary frame, as distinguished from the main frame, as this also is not new. These features of construction, however, though in themselves old, are now used in new combinations, as hereinafter more explicitly pointed out. Further, as above indicated, I do not in this division of my application make any claim to the peculiar mode shown in the drawings of connecting the heel of the cutting apparatus with the main frame, or to the mode of lifting the cutting apparatus in order to pass obstructions, or of raising its heel for backing, as these features form the subject of the original application filed by me on the 28th of April, 1882, and from which the present application has been separated as a special division.

What is claimed as new is l. The combination, in a two-wheeled mowing-machine, of a laterally-projecting fingerbar, a coupling-frame whereby said finger-bar is flexibly connected with the main frame, so as to rise and fall freely with the undulations of the ground, a crank-shaft, a chain-wheel and gear-wheel driving the crank-shaft, and both supported on the main frame forward of the main wheels, and a flexible driving-connection between such chain-wheel and the main axle.

2. The combination, in a two-wheeled mowing-machine, of a laterally-projecting fingerbar, a drag bar whereby said finger bar is flexibly connected with the main frame, so as to rise and fall freely with the undulations of the ground, a crank shaft mounted on such drag-bar, a chain-wheel and gear-wheel for driving said crank-shaft, and both supported on the main frame forward of the main wheels, and aflexible driving-connection between such chain-wheel and the main axle.

3. The combination, in a two-wheeled mowing-machine, of a laterally-projecting fingerbar, a d rag-bar flexibly connecting said fingerbar with the main frame, so that it may rise and fall freely with the undulations of the ground, said drag-bar being arranged at the grass side of the machine, and pivoted at its forward end to an axle or shaft projecting laterally from the main frame in front of the main wheels, a crank-shaft mounted on such drag-bar, a chain-wheel and gear-wheel for driving said crank-shaft, and both mounted on such axle or shaft, and a flexible driving-connect-ion between such chain-wheel and the main axle.

1. In combination with the main axle of a two-wheeled mowing-machine, a chain-wheel mounted thereon, a secondary axle arranged parallel with the main axle, and a sleeve supported on said secondary axle and provided 'with a chain-wheel and a bevel gear-wheel,

and a crank-shaft for driving the cutters, substantially as shown and described.

5. The combination, in a mowing-machine, of a secondary axle mounted on the main frame and projecting laterally, so as to cross the path of the main driving-wheel, a dragbar or shoe pivoted to the end of such axle, and a brace extending from the end of such axle to the draft frame or pole of the machine.

6. The combination, in a mowing-machine, of a secondary axle or shaft, the gearing for driving the cutters, supported on said axle, a shoe and drag-bar arranged outside the main driving-wheel, at the grass side of the machine,

and pivoted at the front end to said secondary axle or shaft, and at the rear flexibly connected to the main axle by means of a joint formed at the heel of the cutting apparatus, and the finger-bar rigidly connected to the shoe and dragbar, substantially as set forth.

7. The combination, in a mowing-machine, of a secondary axle or shaft, the gearing for driving the cutters, a shoe and drag-bar arranged outside the main driving-wheel,at the grass side of the machine, and pivoted at the front end to said secondary axle or shaft, and at the rear flexibly connected to the main axle by means of a joint formed at the heel of the cutting apparatus, the finger-bar rigidly con-' nected to said shoe and drag-bar, and the crank-shaft arranged on such shoe and dragbar in line with the pivots of the same, so that the finger-bar may be raised, lowered, or folded without throwing the gearing out of mesh, 

